According to those who preach the gospel of affirmative action, it is no longer sufficient for an employer to hire the best man or woman for a particular job. Instead, these far-left activists believe every workplace should be required to meet some quota for minority and female employees – regardless of the effect such staffing decisions might have on productivity.

Furthermore, advocates are constantly moving the goalposts regarding the equality issue, leading to absurd protests and unfounded claims of racism.

One of the most noteworthy complaints in recent weeks revolved around the cast of Saturday Night Live’s newest season. After announcing replacements for several exiting stars, NBC and Lorne Michaels, the show’s executive producer, received numerous complaints regarding a perceived lack of diversity.

Despite the fact the show has managed to survive six seasons without a black woman in its lineup, outraged leftists immediately pounced on the late-night sketch comedy program’s executives.

In one recent skit featuring host Kerry Washington, SNL humorously addressed the controversy by apologizing to the black actress for making her portray several other black women over the course of the show.

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While most viewers understand Michaels and company merely want to provide exposure to the best and brightest future comedic stars, a vocal minority would prefer a black woman find a position at the expense of a more qualified candidate. Even black cast member Kenan Thompson confirmed that “in auditions, they just never find [black females] that are ready.”

His comments, however, did not dissuade those angry with the decision; in fact, the defense earned him criticism from the same crowd.

I’m going to need SNL’s @KeenanThompson to explain what in the hell he means there aren’t a lot of funny Black women out there. Foolish!

Ultimately relenting to mounting pressure, Michaels took the drastic step of holding a special audition with the sole purpose of finding a black woman for the cast. The victor, Sasheer Zamata, will make her debut Jan. 18.

While Zamata could very well create a name for herself and transition from this gig into one of Hollywood stardom, the circumstances of her job offer make her appear to be a charity case. Instead of earning the position on her own merit, she was given the break based solely on her skin color and gender.